Pat Bean's blog

100 Reasons I Have to be Thankful

My new great-granddaughter, Savannah Kay.

“Be grateful for what you have and stop complaining – it bores everybody else, does you no good, and doesn’t solve any problems.” Zig Ziglar

In no particular order, I’m thankful:

1. I survived the year in good health, and still with an adventurous spirit.
2. My new great-granddaughter, Savannah Kay.
3. That nearly 40 years ago I stopped believing I had to be perfect, because I’m surely not.
4. New friends I’ve made this year. and the old friends who have managed to hang with me. Friends are one of the greatest gifts of life.
5. Pink and lavender sunrises and orange and gold sunsets (and all the other colored ones) that enrich my days.
   

   Tucson sunset from my front balcony. — Photo by Pat Bean

6. Pepper, my canine companion, who will turn three on December 1.
7. I’m doing drawing and water coloring again after a 10-year absence – and grateful I don’t think my art has to be perfect.
8. Authors who write the books I love to read.
9. I can afford to pay for adequate health insurance when so many can’t.
10. Mother Nature’s many wonders, which help keep me sane in today’s chaotic world.
11. My role as matriarch of a family that includes five children, 15 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren, and of course thankful for them as well.
12. I live in a country where a lone female, like me, can travel across this country alone without a male escort or fear of being stoned.
13. Story Circle Network, a supportive group of female writing colleagues who daily enrich this writer’s life.
14. My small, third-floor walkup apartment that sits in the shadow of the Catalina Mountains.
    

    The Catalina Mountains from my bedroom balcony. — Photo by Pat Bean

15. The hummingbirds, verdins and finches that almost daily empty my feeders, and for all the other magical birds that flit around my life.
16. Beautiful blank journals for me to fill.
17. Learning something new, hopefully every day.
18. My new car, Cayenne.
19. The music of rain and thunderstorms, and the rainbows that follow.
20. Spell check, even if it’s imperfect, too.
21. Soft pajamas and fleece blankets to snuggle in.
22. Tie-Dye T-shirts to feed the flower child in me.
23. Caring people.
24. The Internet that almost always has an answer to my many questions, and which keep me connected to family, friends and writing colleagues.
25. A hot bath in a comfortable tub, the one thing I missed during my RV-ing days.
26. Mornings, with a cup of bold, cream laced coffee and a too-full list of things I want to do.
27. Tucson’s desert flowers, especially the blooming red bird of paradise bush.
28. Moisturizing cream.
29. Manicures and pedicures, when I can afford them.
30. Smiles and laughter.
31. Pleasant surprises.
32. A stiff Jack and Coke with a friend and good conversation.
33. Maples, redwoods, live oaks and all other trees that reach to the sky while remaining rooted to the earth. Yup, you guessed it. I’m a tree-hugger.
    

    Autumn in Ramsey Canyon. — Photo by Pat Bean

34. That I overcame my childhood angst and came to love my mother so much that I still miss her.
35. Being a writer, because it’s through the written word that I get to experience the world twice, and also learn what I really think about it.
36. Hugs.
37. The Colorado, Snake, Green and Salmon rivers for all the thrills they gave me during my white-water rafting days, and all the river rats who shared the daytime excitement and the nighttime campfires and tall tales.
38. Good chocolate .
39. Scenic byways and back roads.
40. A great pen, (Uniball Vision Elite, bold black).
41. Massages.
42. Hiking trails, easy ones these days.
43. My almost daily e-mail from a daughter-in-law, and weekly calls from my children.
    

    I’m thankful for hiking trails that lead me into the midst of Mother Nature’s wonders. — Photo by Pat Bean

44. My monthly Social Security check.
45. My digital camera and my old-fashioned cell phone.
46. Audible books that let me listen far into the night and still rest my tired eyes and be comfortable.
47. A virus and malware-free computer.
48. Kind people.
49. WordPress for hosting this blog.
50. Comfortable shoes and clean white sox
51. The wolf tattoo that I was brave enough to get on my 75^th birthday this year – and for the wolves return to Yellowstone.
52. For art and music that touches my soul, and their creators.
53. That despite evidence to the contrary, I still believe peace might someday be the norm on this planet we share with a multitude of cultures and religions.
54. For the aurora borealis, which I still hope one day to see.
55. For my writing desk that looks out onto trees and a red-tiled roof visited often by ravens.
56. A sky full of stars.
57. My Kindle.
58. Scented candles.
59. My curiosity, which hopefully I’ll never lose.
60. Clean kitchen drawers, which reminds me of something that should go on my to-do list for next week.
61. Waterfalls and lake reflections.
62. New experiences.
63. A long snail mail from a friend.
    

    Purple mountain majesty. — Photo by Pat Bean

64. National and state parks.
65. Board games with competitive people.
66. My small crockpot.
67. Electricity, hot water, heaters and air conditioners.
68. My African safari, and other travels, that live on in my little gray cells.
69. Glasses that let these old eyes continue to read.
70. Stained glass windows.
71. The nighttime howls of coyotes, as long as they don’t eat my Pepper in the daytime.
72. Libraries and bookstores.
73. Good movies, like “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy.
74. Christmas Trees.
75. A good haircut.
76. Live theater.
77. A gift of flowers.
78. The pair of Cooper hawks that I saw grow from egg, to chick, to free flying this past year. They were raised in a tall tree I could see from my living room balcony.
79. The color red.
80. Butterflies.
    

    I’m thankful for butterflies and flowers. — Photo by Pat Bean

81. Agatha Christie mysteries. I’m currently reading all of the Hercule Poirot books in order and am once again enchanted by her masterful writing.
82. Wildlife and nature sanctuaries, like Ramsey Canyon that I recently visited.
83. Texas bluebonnets, which I saw in April, and the always colorful front garden flowers here at my apartment complex. .
84. My armchair travels of the world.
85. Thanksgiving dinner with family.
86. Dragons and castles in a cloudy sky.
87. Good ice cream. Blue Bell in Texas and Blue Bunny here in Tucson.
88. Helen Reddy singing “I Am Woman, Hear Me Roar.”
89. My wrinkles, because I earned them.
90. America’s purple mountain majesties and fields of amber grain.
    

    I’m thankful for my curiosity, and for this planet’s nearly 10,000 bird species.

91. Shade on a sunny day.
92. My trip to the zoo this week with a three-year-old great-grandson.
93. Cheesecake.
94. For completing the fourth rewrite of my book, “Travels with Maggie,” hopefully leaving only a fifth proofreading task ahead.
95. The strong women who came before me.
96. The overhead honking of Canada geese.
97. A comfortable bed.
98. The scent of gardenia, which always makes me think of my grandmother.
99. Wind chimes.
100. And all my blog followers.